Mandatory vs Non-Mandatory Labor Law Postings

You probably can guess that a mandatory labor law posting is one that employers are required to display.

But not all changes to an existing mandatory posting are considered mandatory (that is, required) updates. In other words, sometimes an agency may make a change to a posting that does not require an employer to remove the previous posting and display the newest one. These are considered recommended but non-mandatory changes.

Labor Law Poster Updates. Simplified.

Mandatory and Non-Mandatory Postings Labor Law Postings

Over the past several years, there has been a steady increase in mandatory labor law posting updates, going from 203 in 2017 to more than 315 in 2021.

However, by some estimates, only about 40 percent of these updates require employers to display new posters. State and federal agencies can change their labor law regulations at any time — and often do so without notifying businesses. Changes to a posting can take many forms, from revised content to formatting modifications, and not every change requires employers to post updated state or federal posters.

Government agencies may make what they consider non-mandatory changes, such as updating contact information on the posting, or including the name of a newly elected governor. Other times, an agency may substantially revise the content of a posting, such as an increase to a minimum wage rate.

Examples of Mandatory vs Non-Mandatory Postings

Take the updates from May 2022, for example.

Connecticut’s Office of the Healthcare Advocate poster was required for employers that provide health insurance or health care benefits to employees, while the Earned Income Credit posting in Louisiana was required for all employers.

Meanwhile, several May 2022 labor law posting updates — notably minimum wage rates (including several in Spanish) — were required for all employers in those jurisdictions.

It is also worth noting that there are many postings only required for specific types of employers. The May 2022 example includes:

• A California notice to employees required for all employers who are required to participate in disability insurance and paid family leave, and not unemployment insurance
• An Oklahoma whistleblower posting required for each state agency, department, institution, board and commission in all branches of state government, including all institutions in the Oklahoma State System of Higher Education

Our Company Was Told of a Mandatory Posting Update

Tracking all these labor law poster updates — both mandatory and not — has created a major challenge for employers, especially with more than 22,000 jurisdictions with the ability to enact employment laws.

But employers should beware of labor law poster vendor scams.

Here’s a typical scenario: your business receives an email, telephone call, or a letter telling you that posters for your state have changed and that your posters are now out of compliance.

How can you be sure that they aren’t just feeding you a line?

This is why about 98 percent of large employers use a labor law poster vendor to manage their compliance programs. Such companies should vet all updates across the U.S., including county and city changes, to ensure posters are up to date. And even with 300-plus mandatory posting updates each year, many employers opt to keep up with all updates, required or not.

HR teams responsible for keeping a few locations compliant with labor law posting updates may not mind spending extra cash here and there just to be “on the safe side.” But if you’re responsible for hundreds – or thousands – of locations, posting updates can be an expensive and confusing proposition.

Conclusion

As a reminder, labor law poster compliance is a year-round challenge. Some employers think that purchasing posters once a year will ensure compliance, but that’s not always the case.

And not properly tracking mandatory posting updates can lead to unnecessary costs, overburdening location managers and more.

Employers should be sure to regularly monitor potential mandatory labor law posting updates in their locations.

This Employment Law News blog is intended for market awareness only, it is not to be used for legal advice or counsel.